Category Archives: Islam

Saudi citizen arrested after non-Muslim journalist sneaks into Mecca

Posted on by

Gil Tamary of Israel’s Channel 13 sparked online fury after he filmed himself in Islam’s holiest city despite a ban on non-Muslims

A Saudi citizen who allegedly helped a non-Muslim enter the holy city of Mecca has been arrested, police in the kingdom said, after an online backlash against a journalist working for Israeli television.

The journalist, Gil Tamary of Israel’s Channel 13, posted on Twitter a video of himself sneaking into Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, in defiance of a ban on non-Muslims.

Continue reading...

Muslims’ high unemployment rate ‘not due to cultural and religious practices’

Posted on by

Study challenges idea poor outcomes are due to Muslims’ so-called ‘sociocultural attitudes’

Poor outcomes for Muslims in the British labour market cannot be explained by sociocultural attitudes, such as commitment to traditionalism, a study has found.

The research, published in the peer-reviewed Ethnic and Racial Studies journal, confirmed the existence of a “Muslim penalty” in the employment market but rejected previous suggestions that it was due to cultural and religious practices.

Continue reading...

Sudan woman faces death by stoning for adultery in first case for a decade

Posted on by

Campaigners say sentence amounts to torture amid fears that country’s new regime is rolling back women’s rights

A woman in Sudan has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, the first known case in the country for almost a decade.

Maryam Alsyed Tiyrab, 20, was arrested by police in Sudan’s White Nile state last month.

Continue reading...

Delhi police arrest Muslim journalist Mohammed Zubair over tweet from 2018

Posted on by

Journalists demand release of co-founder of Alt News after he was accused of insulting Hindus

The co-founder of a factchecking website has been arrested by police in Delhi weeks after he highlighted derogatory comments made by a spokesperson for Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) about the prophet Muhammad.

Mohammed Zubair, who set up the Alt News website, flagged the remarks made during a television debate at the end of May on Twitter, bringing them attention they may not otherwise have had.

Continue reading...

British Muslim travel agencies in uproar over Saudi hajj changes

Posted on by

Saudi Arabia tells pilgrims to use new online system and to seek refunds from any agencies they have already paid

British Muslim travel companies have said they face going out of business, with travellers potentially losing thousands of pounds, after Saudi Arabia launched a new system for applying for the hajj pilgrimage.

The Saudi government announced this month that pilgrims from Europe, the US and Australia could no longer book through travel agencies and would instead have to apply through a lottery system.

Continue reading...

One of earliest known mosques found in Israeli desert, say experts

Posted on by

Remains thought to be more than 1,200 years old shed light on region’s transition from Christianity to Islam, say officials

Israeli archaeologists have unveiled a rare ancient mosque in the country’s south that antiquities officials said shed light on the region’s transition from Christianity to Islam.

The remains of the mosque, believed to be more than 1,200 years old, were discovered during works to build a new neighbourhood in the Bedouin city of Rahat, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Saudi authorities seize rainbow toys in crackdown on homosexuality

Posted on by

Pencil cases, skirts and hats among items targeted for ‘contradicting Islamic faith and public morals’

Saudi officials have been seizing rainbow-coloured toys and clothing from shops in the capital as part of a crackdown on homosexuality, state media has reported.

The kingdom opened to tourism in 2019 but, like other Gulf countries, it is frequently criticised for its human rights record, including its outlawing of homosexuality, a potential capital offence.

Continue reading...

UN human rights chief to forgo second term amid China trip criticism

Posted on by

Michelle Bachelet, strongly criticised over Xinjiang visit, cites personal reasons for decision

The United Nations’ human rights chief has announced her decision to step down, citing “personal reasons”, amid weeks of speculation following her recent China trip that drew fierce criticism from activists and western politicians.

Writing on Twitter, Michelle Bachelet, who assumed the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights in 2018, said: “It is time to go back to Chile and be with family.”

Continue reading...

India: more countries join Muslim protests over Muhammad remarks

Posted on by

Disciplinary action against members of BJP fails to quell growing anger in Muslim world over comments insulting the prophet

Six more countries have joined diplomatic protests across the Muslim world over derogatory remarks insulting the prophet Muhammad made by spokespeople for the party of Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.

Indonesia, the UAE, the Maldives, Jordan, Bahrain and Libya have joined Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Afghanistan in lodging official complaints over comments from representatives of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party. Meanwhile hardline party members have reacted angrily to disciplinary action against the pair after their comments went viral in the Middle East.

Continue reading...

Prophet Muhammad remarks embroil India in row with Gulf states

Posted on by

‘Insulting’ comments by spokespeople for ruling Bharatiya Janata party met with anger in Middle East

The Indian government has become embroiled in a diplomatic row with Gulf states after two ruling party spokespeople were accused of making Islamophobic and derogatory comments insulting the prophet Muhammad.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) suspended its national spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, and expelled its Delhi media head, Naveen Kumar Jindal, after their comments went viral in the Middle East, where they were met with a chorus of diplomatic anger.

Continue reading...

Indian MP visiting Australia appears to equate Muslim conquest of India with Holocaust

Posted on by

BJP’s Tejasvi Surya’s comments come as Muslim student associations, religious groups and academics protest his visit

An Indian politician visiting Australia called the Muslim conquest of India “the bloodiest chapter in the history of the world” and appeared to equate it with the Holocaust amid a controversial speaking tour.

Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya, in Australia to take part in a series of events, including the Australia India Youth Dialogue (AIYD), told an audience in Parramatta on Monday that the history of Islam is “writ large with bloodshed and violence.”

Continue reading...

World’s highest jailing rate found in Uyghur county of China, data leak suggests

Posted on by

One in 25 people sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges in Konasheher, Xinjiang province, where Communist party represses Muslim minority

Nearly one in 25 people in a county of the Uyghur heartland of China has been sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges, in what is the highest known imprisonment rate in the world, an Associated Press review of leaked data shows.

A list obtained and partially verified by the Associated Press cites the names of more than 10,000 Uyghurs sent to prison in just Konasheher county, one of dozens in southern Xinjiang. In recent years, China has waged a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim minority, which it has described as a “war on terror”.

Continue reading...

French mayor reignites burkini row with pool rule proposal

Posted on by

Grenoble mayor wants swimmers to dress ‘how they like’, including topless or in full-body suits

The burkini, or full-body swimsuit, is once again at the centre of a political row in France as Grenoble’s town council prepares to debate loosening rules on swimwear at open-air pools.

Rules on swimwear are strict at most French public pools, with men, for example, having to wear tight-fitting racing trunks and not longer board-shorts. Currently, in Grenoble municipal pools, UV-protective tops are banned, except short-sleeved tops for children under 10, or for adults who present a medical note from their doctor.

Continue reading...

Female student in Nigeria beaten to death over ‘blasphemy’

Posted on by

Witnesses say police failed to disperse mob of fellow students in Sokoto who set victim on fire following WhatsApp comments

A female student in Nigeria was beaten to death and set on fire by fellow students who accused her of posting “blasphemous” statements in a WhatsApp group, two witnesses have said.

The school, located in Nigeria’s north-western state of Sokoto, was immediately closed down following the attack.

Continue reading...

Blast at Kabul mosque kills more than 50 worshippers

Posted on by

Explosion in Afghan capital is latest in string of attacks on civilians during Ramadan

A powerful explosion has killed more than 50 worshippers after Friday prayers at a Kabul mosque, the latest of a series of attacks on civilian targets in Afghanistan during Ramadan.

The blast hit the Khalifa Sahib mosque in the west of the capital in the early afternoon, according to Besmullah Habib, the deputy spokesperson for the interior ministry.

Continue reading...

Gunmen steal 200 Eid outfits from Pakistani tailor in Islamabad

Posted on by

Muhammad Razzaq says two armed men tied up and beat his staff and made off with 240 shalwar kameez

Gunmen have stolen more than 200 outfits made for the customers of a Pakistani tailor for the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

Muhammad Razzaq said two armed men barged into his store in the capital, Islamabad, tied up and beat his staff, before making off with 240 completed or near-finished traditional shalwar kameez outfits.

Continue reading...

Israeli police and Palestinians clash at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem

Posted on by

Red Crescent says at least 42 injured at site revered by Muslims and Jews as police fire rubber bullets at youths throwing rocks

Israeli police have fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards Palestinian youths throwing rocks in the latest outbreak of violence at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque, a site revered by Muslims and Jews.

At least 42 Palestinians were injured in the early morning clashes on Friday at Islam’s third-holiest site, the Palestine Red Crescent said.

Continue reading...

Nigerian humanist jailed for 24 years after pleading guilty to blasphemy

Posted on by

Mubarak Bala’s case seen as part of a clampdown on critics of religious orthodoxy in a deeply conservative region

A prominent Nigerian humanist has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to blasphemy charges, in a landmark case that has put a new focus on the threats to freedom of expression in the west African country.

Mubarak Bala, the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon, two years after his arrest at his home in the northern Kaduna state on 28 April 2020. He was then taken to neighbouring Kano, where calls for action against him had been made by members of the religious establishment in the majority Muslim and conservative state.

Continue reading...

India court in Karnataka upholds ban on hijabs in colleges

Posted on by

Fearing unrest over the ruling, the state government bans large gatherings after the restrictions on headscarves sparked violent protests

A court in India has ruled that wearing a hijab is not an essential principle of Islam, in a setback to Muslim students who were demanding the right to wear the headscarf in colleges in Karnataka, south India.

The Karnataka high court was hearing the petitions of Muslim students who had been stopped in January from entering the government college in Udupi, where they were enrolled, for wearing the hijab.

Continue reading...

‘Hijab marches’ compete with Pakistan’s International Women’s Day rallies

Posted on by

Minister says women’s march violates Islamic values, prompting counter-events organised by religious groups

More than 1,000 veiled women attended marches to promote Islamic values in cities across Pakistan on International Women’s Day in an attempt to counter pro-gender equality rallies.

In Islamabad and Karachi, well-attended “hijab marches”, organised by religious groups, competed with those participating in aurat – Urdu for women – rallies, which call for an end to systemic discrimination in the country.

Continue reading...